Method of preparing wound packages from skeins



Apr. 3,. 1923. 1,450,544

w. G. HANNAH METHOD OF PREPARING WOUND PACKAGES FROM SKEINS Filed June26, 1922 Patented Apr. 3, 1923. I

WILLIAM G. HANNAH, 0F PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF PREPARING WOUND PACKAGES FROM SKEINS.

Application filed June 26, 1922. SerialNo. 570,918.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. HANNAH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods ofPreparing Wound Packages from Skeins, of which the following is aspecification.

According to this invention, having a skeinv which has been wound sothat the component convolutions lie one after another side by side inthe regular way but each convolution crosses and recrosses each of itsnext adjoining neighbors an odd number of times, so that the skein hasan odd number of what may be termed sheds and crosses alternatingtherewith, I first place in the several sheds attenuated flexibleinserts, as cords, and then fit the skein on a suitable distendingsupport, as a swift, with the in serts' still therein, and then unwindthe skein convolution after convolution in the forming of a cop or otherwound package which is to be made up from the yarn. Important feature ofmy invention are the introduction of the inserts in the sheds of such askein as I have indicated and finally the leaving of the inserts in thesheds during the unwinding of the skein. For my invention contemplatesthe handling of certain yarns which it is particularly diflicult tocontrol, like artificial silk, or also like crepe or other yarns havinga high twist in only one direction and consequently having considerablelife, or a tendency to untwist, so that on a swiftthe convolutionsthereof tend to. work about and so overlap or intertwist with eachother. In the preferred performance ofmy invention, in addition tointroducing the inserts and leaving them in the sheds during unwindingof the skeins, I place the latter on the mentioned support, as a swift,so that its crosses register with the cross-arms of suchsupport; thisprevents any possibility of the portions of the yarn between the crossesbeing accidently over-lapped in fitting the skein to such su port. Ialso fasten each insert to one si e of the support, whereby it can bepulled from time to time in rearranging the convolutions withoutdisturbing those at the side of the skein adjoining the point offastening the insert.

Inthe drawing, fi gig.v 1 shows a skein wound as above speci- Fig. 2 isa fragmentary view of the skein on a larger scale, with the insertstherein;

Fig, 3 is a fragmentary view of the skein on a swift (shown partly insection), with the inserts therein; and

Fig; 4 is aside elevation of'what appears in Fig, 3.

The yarn is first wound to form a skein as shown in Fig. 1. For thispurpose let a and I) represent set of pegs or other supports arrangedsubstantially concentrically, there being an odd number of' pegs in eachset and those in one set substantially in radial registry with those inthe other. The yarn A is so wound as to pass outward of a peg in the setI) and then inward of the nextpe in that set, and so on alternately convo ution after convolution, resting on the pegs b which it outwardlypasses and on the pegs a where it inwardly passes pegs b'. The result ofthis will be that there will be formed in the skein sheds c withalternating crosses d. This arrangement, if maintained, obviously keepsthe var'iousconvolutions distinct to the end that supposing the yarn tobe a high-twisted yarn which cannot undergo dyeing without a tendency tosnarl badly, if cords or other inserts be passed through the sheds theskein can thereupon be rearranged or recorded by simply distending it,said inserts acting to maintain the crosses. In the average size skeinit is best to provide about nine crosses.

*When the skein has been thus formed I thereupon introduce through itssheds, as shown in Fig. 2, cords or other inserts e; each of these ispassed through one shed and then back through the next adjoining shedand may thereupon have its ends tied together to form an endless band toretain it in position. Theskein is then dyedor otherwise treated, but inany case so long as the inserts remain in place the crosses will, remainand so when the skein is distended and properly laid out so that all theinserts are straightened the several convolutions must of necessity takethe same relative positions which they assumed in the forming of theskein.

' Having prepared skein in this way it is subjected to unwinding in thefollowing way: In Figs. 3 and 4 I show an ordinary swift f on whoseskein-supports g, arranged as usual substantially parallel with andaround the axis of the swift, the skein is placed and by which it isheld distended under a certain amount of tension. When this is donethere should be certainty that all the convolutions lie side by side intheir regular order becausethe yarn bein hightwisted and dyed it isexceedingly lively and its convolutions have a tendency in placing theskein on the swift to overlap and in tertwist, the presence of whichconditions will lead to breakage and necessitate frequent stopping ofthe unwinding operation that is to ensue. And so the attendant uponlaying the convolutions as flat as possible on the supports 9 then loopseach band 6 over one of the spokes f in each pair, having firstpreferably formed a hitch e in the band so as to embrace the otherspoke, the band being held taut by the two spokes. In consequence, eachyarn convolution is compelled to take its proper position, of coursewith some assistance on the part of the attendant by working the skein,which the swift holds fairly taut, with his hands.

The several bands are now severed at a point remote from their hitches 6so that theunwinding can proceed. During the unwinding, which iseffected in the usual way, the swift rotating in suitable bearings underthe pull of the yarn as it is wound up into a cop or other woundpackage, the various inserts are left extending through the sheds, theirsevered free ends hanging down and free so that as the yarn leaves theskein-supports 9 it wipes them out of the way. If there is any tendencyfor the convolutions during the unwinding to work over or twist aroundeach other the attendant can always rearrange them by pulling on thefree ends of the inserts which, being fastened to the swift at theopposite side, do not at that side of the skein disarrange theconvolutions.

I may remark that whereas the inserts are sufficiently flexible so asnot to interfere with the unwinding of the fine yarn they areconsiderably coarser than the yarn, which quality in large measureprevents the convolutions working laterally one way or the other.

In performing my invention, I prefer to arrange the crosses (1 so thatthey will register with the skein-supports 9, rather than so that theywill lie between them. If they lie between the skein-supports it ispossible for the attendant in fitting the skein to the swift to leavesome of the convolutions overlapping each other and so held by pressureagainst the skein-supports, which would cause breakage when theunwinding as to those convolutions took place. For this purpose theswift should be so constructed that its skein-supports are spaced fromeach other distances equal tothe spaces between the crosses d of theskein.

l leretofore it has been regarded as impossible to manufacture fabricsfrom already dyed crepe or other high-twisted silk yarns having a hightwist in only one direction, because such yarns are so completelyintractable, due to their life, and consequently tend to roll or workaround each other and if they do not become intertwisted at least becomeoverlapped on the swift. By establishing the crosses in the skein whenforming it and then maintaining such crosses during the unwinding of theskein I have in practice entirely overcome this difficulty, so that bymy invention it is now possible to produce woven fabrics formed of suchyarns already dyed, and this of course makes it possible to weavefabrics of such yarns dyed in different colors, which was heretoforeunknown.

By my invention it is also possible to overcome the greater part of thedifliculty and annoyance which attends the handling of artificial silkin the process of unwinding it from the skein due to its inherentinertness and tendency to lie heavy when in mass and for the strandsthereof to catch on or adhere to each other, so that if my method isfollowed an attendant can serve many more winding units (unwinding fromswifts and winding into cops, etc.) than heretofore.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The hereindescribed method of preparing a wound package of yarn whichconsists in first forming a skein of the yarn in which each convolutionthereof crosses and recrosses the adjoining neighboring convolutions agiven odd number plurality of times, then introducing through thecorresponding sheds formed between the crosses flexible attenuatedinserts, then placing the skein on a swift adapted to hold the skeindistended and attaching each insert to the swiftat one side of the skeinand then drawing the inserts taut so as to position the convolutionsside by side from end to end of the yarn, and then. with the skeindistended and the inserts still positioned in the skein sheds, formingthe wound package while leaving the swift free to rotate. 7

2. The hereindescribed method of preparing a wound package of yarn whichconsists in first forming a skein of the yarn in which each convolutionthereof crosses and recrosses the adjoining neighboring convolutions agiven odd number plurality of times, then introducing through thecorresponding sheds formed between the crosses flexible atthe yarn, andthen, with the skein distended tenuated inserts, then placing the skeinon a and the inserts still positioned in the skein swift having spacedskein supports adapted sheds, forming the wound package while 10 to holdthe skein distended and so that the leaving the swift free to rotate.

5 crosses register with said supports and In testimony whereof I aflixmy signature.

drawing the inserts taut so as to position the convolutions side by sidefrom end to end of WM. G. HANNAH.

